Bad Return Experience

I have been a loyal customer of Best Buy for a long time now. All of the electronic items in my house and my mother-in-law house in Boston, MA came from your store.

On January 24, 2019, I purchased 55” Samsung TV (UN55NU6900B) at 15:18 at the store located at 33590 South Dixie Hwy, Florida City, FL 33034. I was looking for another TV that was on sale that date to install at one of my empty bedroom that I have in my house. However, the sale person convinced me to buy the 55” Samsung, but he did not mention that it was an open box. He told me that the new model was in and that’s why this TV was on sale.

I thought I had a good deal on this TV because all my TVs at home are Samsung and I never have any problems with them. He told me about an extended warranty, which I agreed to buy; so I bought the warranty for peace of mind (That was I thought)

On February 9, 2019 (today), I had one of my friends help me to install it. All this time since January 24, 2019 until now, the TV was inside the box unopened in my empty bedroom. It was only opened the day of the installation (02/09/2019) so I was unable to realize that there was something wrong with the TV up until today.

Just to go over the order of events it went as followed: 1) Visit to Best Buy was made for an initial TV 2) A Best Buy salesperson convinced us to opt in on purchasing this 55” Samsung model that were now being replaced. – no mention was ever made of it being a open box was ever made or suggested 3.) The newly purchased Samsung TV was purchased along with the warranty and was safely transported to our home via an upright position as recommended by the Best Buy team at that store location. 4.) We safely stored it in our spare room in it’s upright position as we were waiting for a home project to finish completion 5.) We opted to install our Samsung TV via wall mount only to discover after connecting it and turning it on that the image was vastly distorted with streaks and lines present. Sound and color lines were the only thing we were able to seen.

I repacked the TV in its original box and drove to the same Best Buy Store (33590 South Dixie Hwy, Florida City, FL 33034). At around 15:45, I approached Alejandro who was with customer service and he told me that if I wanted another TV I have to pay for the difference which was $39. I asked him why I would have to pay for the difference since I bought the warranty. I asked Alejandro to give me the company phone number so that I can file a complaint but most importantly be connected with someone who can assist me more directly. So Alejandro went back and came with the Manager Angel (he refused to give me his last name). Angel informed me that the screen was broken and that for that reason he cannot replace the TV. I explained to him that if the TV was broken was because I got it that way because I just opened the box today (February 9, 2019). So essentially, Angel not only told me that the TV couldn’t be replaced, but that the original opportunity of paying $39 difference for a replacement initially offered by Alejandro was null and void. I was left speechless at the turn of events especially when the realization came in that $406.58 of my hard-earned money was flushed down the drain. I asked Angel to confirm that there was nothing he could do and he did but stopped short of mentioning the obvious that I lost $406.58 on a very unfair situation.

As mentioned before, I’ve been a loyal Best Buy consumer for years. My purchase history is quite expansive and in good standing no matter the size of the purchases. Moreover, this isn’t the first time I’ve purchased a TV from Best Buy, either (every other TV purchased have been a smooth as butter in the process). I mention this because it’s extremely frustrating and frankly I can’t help but feel betrayed that the electronics store I frequented and recommended on numerous occasions screwed me over.

I can’t put into words how disappointed and frustrated I am. I do understand the tricky scenario with Loss Prevention and the challenges of balancing rightful customer concerns and those that stand on fraudulent grounds. I hope you guys can evaluate my situation along with my account/purchase history to right this wrong. I really don’t want to opt into using alternative electronic stores, but this severe bad taste in my mouth is pushing me to dropping Best Buy and canceling my Best Buy credit card altogether.

Re: Bad Return Experience

Thank you for reaching out to our Forums support team. First off, I'd like to thank you for being a loyal Best Buy customer over the years and choosing us for all of your electronic needs. We always appreciate our longstanding customers, and we hate to hear you encountered issues with your defective/damaged TV.

Home projects are a lot of work and I'm sure you were excited to finally put up your newly purchased TV. I can imagine your surprise when finding the distorted streaks and lines present when turning the device on. This is not the kind of purchase experience we want for our customers, and we certainly wish you had a better in-store interaction when you returned to the store regarding an exchange of this TV.

I'd like the opportunity to look into your account and this recent purchase to see what can possibly be done moving forward. In order to do this, please send me a Private Message including your full name, email, phone number, and 16-digit customer service PIN located on the bottom of your receipt (ending in the date of the purchase). You can find the option to message me below, to the right of my name.

Looking forward to doing what I can to help,

Allison|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate Give Kudos if you like this post or Accept as Solution if it answers your query!